Suspected jihadists killed 25 people in central Mali

Suspected jihadists have killed at least 25 people in coordinated attacks on five villages in central Mali, local and administrative sources told AFP Friday.

Many people were also wounded, villages torched and cattle stolen in Thursday's attacks in the Bandiagara region, forcing the local population to flee, the sources said.

Mali has faced a critical security crisis since Tuareg rebels and Al-Qaeda-linked fighters launched coordinated attacks against strategic junta positions on April 25 and 26.

"We are already mourning 25 dead, and there are many injured, including women and children," a local official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"Since this morning, entire families have been on the roads, fleeing with nothing."

Another source at the Bandiagara governor's office said the situation was "alarming" and that no officials had yet travelled to the area to assess the damage.

A regional youth council member said most of the 25 killed had been civilians, along with a small number of traditional hunters known as Dozos.

"We have several relatives we cannot find, and we are sure the attackers will return. They have said so," the source added.

The villages targeted had refused to sign local agreements with jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

More than 70 people were killed in similar attacks in the same region two weeks ago.

Since 2012, Mali has faced a deepening security crisis driven by violence linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as separatists and local criminal gangs.

Since late April, JNIM jihadists have also blockaded the main routes into Bamako, the Malian capital, torching dozens of buses and freight trucks.